American Medical Association Waiting on SCOTUS Ruling

LEXINGTON, Ky. - Whatever decision the U.S. Supreme Court hands down on Thursday regarding the Affordable Care Act, the American Medical Association says it will continue to lobby lawmakers on behalf of the poor and uninsured.

“This is probably one of the world’s best-kept secrets. We have no idea,” says Ardis Hoven, a Kentucky doctor recently named the president-elect of the AMA.

The AMA hopes the justices decide to uphold the legislation, especially the “Individual Mandate” portion, which requires nearly everyone to have health insurance coverage by 2014 or pay a fine.

“They don’t collaborate. And we in this country cannot afford to deal with issues of the uninsured and quality of care and access to care in an environment when the politicians are so tied up in their own politics and not willing to deal with the real world issues out there.”

Hoven says the Affordable Care Act is not perfect, and work still needs to be done in calculating how doctors are reimbursed for treating patients on Medicare.